


archie 3

by romanticalgirl



Series: December Ficlets 2007 [28]
Category: Hornblower (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 20:50:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/752940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanticalgirl/pseuds/romanticalgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted 12-8-07</p>
    </blockquote>





	archie 3

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted 12-8-07

Archie makes his way through the ship slowly, finding his sea legs with every step. He doesn’t speak to anyone, merely feels their eyes on him as he goes down to his quarters. Whispers move along with him, passed from man to man, telling his stories with embellishments and lies.

He doesn’t know his own story anymore by the time he reaches the cot that is now his, the canvas rough and worn all at once. It hangs there, swaying slightly with the motion of the ship, and he wonders at it. This is his coffin waiting for him, sewn through with thick thread and the final needle through his nose. He rests his head on the fabric and breathes it in, memorizes the smell of salt and sweat and the sea so it will go to his grave with him. This is how he wants to die, not in some cell or hole in the ground. He wants to die with a sword in his hand, with a Frenchman on his blade. He wants to die in victory now that he knows that defeat did not kill him.

He straightens and moves to the mirror, inhaling sharply at the sight of his reflection. He needs many things, not the least of which is a hot bath and a sharp scrub of lye soap, a haircut and a new uniform. For now he wears the spare shirts and trousers of the others on the crew and combs his hair back into a tight queue, an extra of Horatio’s ribbons fastening it tight at the base of his skull. His reflection gazes back and he can no longer see the boy he was when he left the Indefatigable that fateful day of the raid on Papillion. 

The boy is gone. He’s just uncertain if he’s yet to recognize the man.


End file.
